Priest kidnapped by junta: Reconciled with pope

BERLIN (AP) — A Jesuit priest kidnapped in 1976 by Argentina’s military junta when the new pope was the leader of that country’s Jesuits says he has reconciled with him.

Pope Francis was criticized at the time for the kidnapping of two priests — Francisco Jalics and Orlando Yorio — who were working in the slums. Yorio accused the new pope, then called the Rev. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, of effectively delivering them to the country’s death squads by declining to publicly endorse their work.

Yorio is dead but Jalics said in a statement Friday that he met Bergoglio years later and talked about the matter before celebrating Mass together with a hug. Jalics says he is reconciled with the events and considers the matter closed.